


tender loving care

by koganewest



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fever, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Sickfic, but keith goes through hell and back, it ends nice though, keith and the team, sick!keith, the team loves keith and wants him to get better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 10:54:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15141545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koganewest/pseuds/koganewest
Summary: team voltron cares for a sick keith





	tender loving care

Keith did not get sick.

It was just a fact that he’d established throughout his life on Earth. When he was very young, he supposed he got a cold on occasion, but nothing significant. His theory was that years in the orphanage had built up his immune system against the numerous germs brought back by the other kids. Plus, when kids did get sick, there wasn’t exactly a lot of people to nurse them back to health. They had to learn to be self sufficient, and do everything they could to avoid getting sick.

So when Keith wakes up hot and flustered, with a contradictory cold sweat, he decides to ignore it. Probably just a restless sleep, right?

Except throughout the day, he finds himself shivering pathetically, even while in the training room. Everyone seems to notice his movements are sluggish and his responses are lacking. Allura approaches him after a few failed rounds, questioning his wellbeing.

“Just tired,” is the excuse he offers repeatedly, dodging further interrogation. Shiro gives him a knowing glare, but Keith shrugs it off and looks away. “It’s been a long few days, y’know?”

But by the time dinner approaches, he has absolutely no energy. He was so cold that he had to physically refrain from letting his teeth chatter. Allura kept eyeing him suspiciously, seeming to know something was wrong, as did Shiro. Other than that, he believed he was doing a decent job of hiding how he felt.

And then he nearly falls asleep at the dinner table.

“Okay, that’s enough, you’re going to the bed,” Shiro announces, standing up as he pushes both Keith’s and his own plate away. Keith attempts to protest, but Shiro cuts him off. “No excuses. You’re obviously not well.”

So Keith stands, head hung pathetically, as he makes his way out of the room. Shiro attempts to follow him, but Keith places a hand on his chest. “Finish eating, I’m fine.”

“I’ve got him, Shiro,” Lance interjects, as he begins stand up. “I’ve already finished eating, but you haven’t.” He’s got unadulterated kindness in his eyes, something Keith isn’t used to seeing, which leads him to assume that Lance used to take care of his siblings when they were sick.

He’s about to protest, to refuse help from anyone, when he shivers again pathetically; it practically seals his fate. Shiro’s gaze fixates on him, watching as Lance approaches him warily. In Lance’s defense, Keith isn’t exactly the most welcoming when it comes to accepting help. So he tried to appear less stoic by lowering his shoulders and uncrossing his arms, which appears to work, because Lance comes to his side. Keith thinks it's a good idea to offer Shiro some reprieve. “I’m fine with Lance. It’s all - all good.”

His words make Lance’s eyes widen a bit, as if surprised at Keith’s lack of protest, but he brushes it off as he leads Keith out of the dining hall.

“Thought you hate m-me,” Keith stutters out through a new wave of shivers. He attempts to pull his pathetic excuse of a jacket closer to himself, but it doesn’t help.

“Oh my god,” Lance laughs, shedding his own jacket. “Just take mine, yours is useless.” He extends the offer by draping the jacket over Keith’s trembling shoulders. He accepts it with gratitude, pulling at the lapels to wrap himself up. “And I don’t hate you, _tonto._ We’re friends! Plus, you remind me of my little sister right now,” he laughs.

The rest of the walk to Keith’s room is filled with a comfortable silence. He’s thankful that Lance isn’t asking questions, because he honestly doesn’t have the energy to talk. Lance helps him into bed, pulls up his covers to his chin. “Get some rest, buddy.”

Keith isn’t awake for much longer than that. It's the first time he's ever been tucked in.  


* * *

“He definitely has a fever.”

“How? He’s literally shivering.”

“Yeah, but feel his forehead. He’s burning up.”

The muddled voices of Hunk and Pidge wake him up. His eyes are glue-y as he attempts to open them, feeling the cold touch of fingertips at the top of his head. Someone’s checking him for a fever. He blinks a few times, lazily glancing at the faces above him.

“So he lives,” Pidge declares mockingly, withdrawing their hand from his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Cold,” he admits, pulling the covers back over himself. “But I’m sweating so much,” he explains, receiving a pitiful look from Hunk. “How long did I sleep?”

“Almost a day,” Hunk tells him, still looking worried. It’s surprising to Keith, who feels like he could _still_ sleep for a week. Hunk must notice his eyelids become droopy again, because he helps him into a sitting position. “Hey, hey, just eat something for us before you go back to sleep.”

His soothing voice is impossible to deny, so he just accepts the bowl Hunk hands him and eats slowly. Pidge led the room to retrieve the other, let them know he was finally awake.

“You should’ve told us you didn’t feel good,” Hunk says softly, as if apprehensive about Keith’s reaction. It’s a fair precaution; Keith knows how he gets sometimes. “We were worried, you know.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles in return. He’s at a loss for words, but the apology is sincere. He shivers again. “Damn, I’m freezing.”

“We’ve got all the blankets on you that we could find. The only thing I have left to offer is body heat,” he laughs apologetically. “I mean, I used to lay with Lance when he got sick at the Garrison, but I doubt you want that -“

“Can you?” Keith mumbles, interrupting Hunk’s rambling. “Lay with me, I mean. You don’t have to, I just can’t get warm and I feel like I’m gonna die of hypothermia.” 

Hunk's eyes widen, but he quickly attempts to mask his surprise. Keith doesn’t blame him; he’s surprised at himself for actually asking, but he chalks it up to his lethargy. “Of course, it’s no big deal,” Hunk agrees softly, peeling back Keith’s covers to situate himself next to the other boy. Hunk yawns and reaches his arms around Keith, “I could probably use a nap.”

And it’s strange for Keith how easily he relaxes into Hunk, like it’s nothing, like he isn’t completely vulnerable, like it isn’t frighteningly intimate, like it isn’t the first time he’s been held.

When Pidge returns with the rest of the time, they’re all surprised to find Keith in Hunk’s arms, both fast asleep. They all leave quietly, making sure not to wake the boys.

Pidge lingers though, to run their hand soothingly through Keith’s hair, damp with sweat, and prays that he’ll be okay.  


* * *

When Keith wakes up the next time, Coran is at his bedside with a few medical supplies. “Okay, number four, I have to run a few tests,” he explains, to which Keith groans in response. He hates this part so much.

He gets his temperature taken, his blood drawn, and injected with Altean anti-inflammatories. Coran is gentle and kind with him, almost too gentle and kind. It makes Keith uneasy and wary that something is seriously wrong with him.

He doesn’t have time to contemplate it though, because the medication is putting him to sleep.  


* * *

“Keith! Keith, what’s wrong?!”

He wakes up sobbing, and he doesn’t know why. Allura’s face is the first thing he sees, concerned and exhausted. He’s crying so hard that he can barely breathe, and he keeps choking on his own tears. It’s mortifying.

He’s sweating so much that the bedsheets feel damp, but it calms him down because he knows it means he’s broken the fever. Still, he’s dizzy and nauseous and can’t stop crying. He tries to gasp out Shiro’s name, to tell Allura he needs him, but it doesn’t sound like much of anything. He tries again, gasping, “Shiro, Shiro.”

“He’s on his way, it’s okay. Everything’s okay,” she soothes. Keith reaches out a hand, still panting heavily, and Allura stares at it blankly. Then almost immediately, she takes his hand in hers, still looking surprised but affectionate. “It’s okay, Keith. I’ve got you.”

Somehow, through his haze of delirium, he thinks about how good of a mother Allura would be. Even just her voice is calming him down, slowing his heartrate. He grasps tightly onto her, like she’s tethering him to the precipice of sanity. And then Shiro comes through the door.

And immediately, Shiro gathers them both into his arms, and it makes his head faint. His breathing slows eventually, and he pulls away from the embrace to look at the both of them.

He finds tears in both of their eyes.  


* * *

The conversation takes place in his own room, meters away from his bed. They must think he’s sleeping.

“You don’t think he’ll get better on his own?” Pidge says, an edge of worry to their voice. “He’s the toughest person we know, can’t he just fight it?”

“I’m afraid not,” a voice replies, and Keith recognizes it as Coran. He remains still on the bed, eyes closed, trying to eavesdrop as much as possible. “The only solution is to put him in a pod, but we’d have to get his fever down drastically beforehand or he’ll die in cryosleep.”

“Then let’s do that! Why haven’t you suggested this yet?”

“Because he’d be in excruciating pain. The Galran fever feeds off incubation, so trying to freeze it would be extremely painful for it and, consequentially, for him.”

Keith can’t help the gasp he lets out, giving away the fact that he’s awake. His eyes open to meet Coran’s and Pidge’s gazes, who look absolutely horrified. Still, he struggles to sit up, determination burning in his eyes. “You have to do it. You have to.”  


* * *

It’s practically an out of body experience. He can hear his own deafening screams as he thrashes about in the ice bath, begging to get out. His whole body is on fire, as if the fever is trying to counteract his environment. He’s puked on himself three times, nauseous with the pain, and he’s practically pulling his hair out in tufts.

Delirium fogs his brain. The next thing he knows, he’s stumbling out of a pod, into the welcoming arms of his team.

And for the first time in what seemed like years of suffering, Keith feels good.

**Author's Note:**

> i really enjoyed writing this! love sick fics!
> 
> talk to me on [tumblr!](https://koganewest.tumblr.com)  
> -lily


End file.
